Succulent
by dfriendly
Summary: Gwen/Arthur UST pre-relationship oneshot – A & G share a fairly intimate moment. Who knew eating strawberries could be so sensual?


**Succulent **

Also posted on LiveJournal under the same username.

**Summary:** Gwen/Arthur UST pre-relationship oneshot – A & G share a fairly intimate moment. Who knew eating strawberries could be so sensual?

**Inspired by kepp0xy's fic "Fruit for Thought" **from LiveJournal (here: .), mostly in that it got me thinking about Gwen, Arthur, & eating strawberries.

**Rating:** Somewhere between PG & T, I can't decide. It's not really sexual… just vaguely suggestive, and sensual/intimate (I hope!)

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It was Lady Morgana's fault, really. Because it was she that had asked Gwen to get her the strawberries in the first place.

So that is how Gwen had come to be in the kitchen storeroom, quite alone. She was preparing a small plate, choosing out the best pieces for her lady from the bushel.

The strawberries had just been picked that morning, the perfect ripeness and succulence. Gwen's mouth couldn't help but water at the sight of them.

Carefully taking one by the stem, Gwen took a small bite, reveling in its sweet taste.

"Sneaking strawberries from the castle storeroom," a familiar voice suddenly called from behind her, making her jump.

Gwen turned to see Arthur standing in the doorway.

"Lady Morgana asked me to get her some," she answered sheepishly.

"And that still doesn't explain what you're doing with a half-eaten one in your hand. You've been caught, Guinevere." He was smiling roguishly, and Gwen knew she wasn't in trouble.

She was still, however, embarrassed, blushing both at his discovery of her and the effect of his teasing eyes. "I'm sorry, Sire. They just looked so good, I couldn't resist."

"I'd never thought you'd so easily give in to temptation, Guinevere," he responded, his voice adopting a sultry tone.

Gwen felt her skin grow warm, quickly averting her eyes from his face to the plate in his hand.

Seeing her confusion, Arthur answered the unspoken question. "Merlin is putting my armor away from training and he is so slow, and I so famished, I couldn't bear to wait." With that, he set down his plate, full with a drumstick, a piece of bread, some cheese, and a meat tartlet.

"I trust they are good," he said, the subject brought back to the strawberries.

"Yes," she smiled gently. "Very good."

Looking Gwen in the eyes one last time, Arthur then turned his attention to her hand, still holding the remaining half of the strawberry. As he started moving in closer, Gwen froze, not registering his intention at first, and then too shocked to do anything about it.

Arthur wrapped his right hand around her wrist, then taking her palm with his left. He bent his head down and guided her hand to his mouth, eating what was left of the strawberry.

His lips brushed her fingers as he bit into the fruit, enticing her fingertips so that she badly wanted to stroke his soft mouth, although she dared not to. A slight shiver coursed her body at the feel of him, and she prayed that he did not feel it reverberate through her arm.

It was like time was running at a quarter of its pace. Gwen's breaths felt heavier in her chest, her skin at a heightened sensitivity to his light touch. Everything in the world seemed to be shut out from her, aside from his mouth on her hand.

Just when Arthur had swallowed and Gwen thought he was done with this sweet torture, he then dipped his head down to the heel of her palm, where a drop of juice had fallen.

Now the contact of his lips was even more intense as he pressed his mouth to her skin, gently sucking the sweet liquid off her hand. To further torment her, his tongue then slipped between his lips, gently licking up any juice that he may have missed.

It took everything Gwen had to keep her composure and not bite her lip… or, forbid, let out a small moan. The sensation of his soft lips, his warm breath, his silky tongue…_ Oh, no._ This would be her undoing.

Finally – or perhaps too soon – Arthur pulled back, his eyes on her. He was smiling, almost flirtatiously, his lips a slight tantalizing pink from the strawberry.

"You're right. They're delicious," he said.

He let go of her hand to pick his plate back up. Then, he plucked a few strawberries from the bushel and set them on top of his meal.

As he turned to leave, he paused to look one last time at Gwen. She still hadn't moved, nor could she so much as find her voice to say something. She didn't even realize that her mouth had been slightly open the whole time until he reached up and dragged his thumb over the edge of her bottom lip, wiping a smudge of juice off.

Gwen lowered her eyes, scarcely breathing at the feel of his caress. At last, she looked at him as he pulled his hand away.

It was strange how calm he acted, as if the intimate touches they'd just shared were not out of the ordinary. His demeanor displayed complete nonchalance, but his intense eyes spoke otherwise.

After a moment, he swallowed and nodded his head in farewell. "Guinevere."

It wasn't until he had disappeared from sight that Gwen heaved out the breath that she hadn't known she was holding.

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Review, please!


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